The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) today criticized Tajikistan over the trial of a journalist who wrote articles critical of local authorities in the Central Asian country.

The OSCE said in a statement that reporter Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov of the independent "Nuri Zindagi" weekly has been indicted for criminal libel and insulting public officials, extortion, and incitement of "regional hatred."

Prosecutors are seeking a 16-year jail sentence for the 51-year-old, who has been in custody since November 2010.

Ismoilov has criticized alleged abuses in the northern region of Soghd.